| Fan Fiction |
by Micah
Changmin got the feeling that he was talking about Junsu.
Was Micky in love with Junsu? Maybe not.
But Junsu was in love with Micky!
Either way, Changmin couldn’t…shouldn’t…wouldn’t be the third wheel.
“So where are you heading?”
“Photo shoot,” Se7en pointed at the building across the street. Had they walked that far? Changmin didn’t notice. He just followed. The walk almost seemed too short.
“There’s your fiancé and your brother about to walk into the studio. Let’s go,” Changmin suggested. If he watched Micky taking wedding pictures with his fiancé, then that should help break the spell.
“Hyung!” Se7en waved as he shouted for the two men who were about to enter the shop. He ran across the street and didn’t see the car coming his way (the light had just barely turned red and the driver was choosing to run a red light).
“Micky!” Changmin shouted as he reached out to grab Se7en’s arm. He tugged too hard and the younger man fell backwards into his arms. He wrapped his arms protectively around Se7en’s waist as he glared at the vehicle that was already speeding away.
Jaejoong and Yoochun ran across the street to get to them. Yoochun pulled the stunned Se7en out of Changmin’s arms and hugged him tightly. Jaejoong wrapped his arms around the both of them.
Changmin looked at the three and smiled a little at how loving they were to each other.
His smile faded when he looked across the street at the photo studio. Through the glass door, he saw Junsu looking…no, glaring at him. Junsu had seen everything.
Everything.
■■■■■
“Why were you with him? How many times have you gone to him behind my back?” Junsu demanded angrily, both of his fists grippingly tightly onto the front of Changmin’s shirt.
“Junsu, calm down,” Yunho tried to pry Junsu away from Changmin.
Junsu ignored Yunho’s words. Changmin didn’t try to fight back.
“Are you attracted to Micky? You kept calling him cute when you first met him at the clinic! Are you trying to take him away from me?”
Changmin wanted to say that Micky wasn’t Junsu’s in the first place. He belonged to Jaejoong. Not Junsu…and certainly not Changmin.
“Junsu…” Yunho tried again.
“I’m not blind! I saw you and him walking towards the studio. I saw the way you were looking at him! You had your arms around him too! I’m not blind, Changmin!” Junsu spoke through gritted teeth. “Are you trying to take him away from me?”
Changmin weakly turned away, unable to look at his good friend. He sighed, “Do you want the truth or the lie?”
Junsu’s grip loosened and he whispered (almost begging, begging his best friend to lie), “Tell me the truth.”
Yunho felt a stab at his heart as he watched the two best friends. It always hurts the bystander to see friendship being destroyed because of love.
“No,” Changmin murmured. “I’m not trying to take Micky away from you.”
And that was the truth. He wouldn’t steal love from his best friend.
Junsu felt the anger leave his body, but relief didn’t replace the emotion. Confusion made him weak and he fell backwards onto the sofa in his living room.
Changmin’s head was low (as if ashamed) as he walked towards the door, needing to leave.
“Wait,” Junsu’s word stopped him. “Have you fallen for Micky?”
Changmin had the door opened and all he needed to do was walk out and run. But that didn’t matter because running away would be the same answer.
With his back still towards Junsu and Yunho, he asked, “Truth or lie?”
“Lie.”
“No.”
And that was the lie.
He walked out and the door closed behind him. The clicking of the closed door was soft to the ears, but it sounded like an explosion to the heart.
“Junsu…” Yunho whispered, unsure of what to say.
“He can’t steal Micky from me, can he?” Junsu murmured.
“He wouldn’t…”
“He can’t,” Junsu corrected, “because Micky doesn’t even belong to me.”
“Don’t let this hurt your friendship with him. Friendship is too precious.”
“What am I trying to prove? What am I trying to do? I’m working on the wedding to break my own heart, but at the same time, I keep trying to remember our memories on the island and bringing it up to him…to make him remember. I want him to remember because I want him to realize that he’s in love with me. What am I doing, Yunho? What am I trying to do?”
“You’re confused. It’s the first time you’ve ever truly been in love,” Yunho sat down next to Junsu and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
“Am I in love with Micky? Am I really?”
“Junsu…” Yunho tried to comfort.
“I mean…I…I got angry at Changmin, but I’m not sure why.”
“Jealousy?”
“I find myself wanting to punch Changmin more than I would want to punch Micky’s fiancé.”
Yunho silently hoped that Junsu would never punch Micky’s beautiful fiancé.
“What are you trying to say?”
“Give me a minute,” Junsu murmured as he rubbed his temples. He tried to clear his thoughts and fifteen minutes of silence later, he eventually spoke, “Yunho, it’s correct for me to be jealous, right?”
“It’s…expected,” Yunho replied.
“Now that I’ve had time to think about it, am I supposed to feel bad for being jealous, for wanting to hurt Changmin?”
“You’d feel bad because Changmin is your best friend.”
“I also feel bad because I wasn’t being jealous for the correct…or the expected reason.”
Yunho blinked, “What do you mean?”
“I feel like…I was obligated to be jealous because I’m in love with Micky. I was jealous out of fear. I was afraid that if I wasn’t jealous…it would mean that I’m not in love with Micky. But a part of me, a big part of my heart, doesn’t want to stop loving Micky.”
“You can’t control that, Junsu. How do you know you’re not in love with him?”
“I…I can’t explain. I want to believe that I’m still in love with him, because the feeling was so good, so real and so powerful. But now, when I see him, the feeling just…isn’t there.”
“Have you thought a lot about this?”
“No, I was in denial the whole time. But after Changmin…I’m really thinking about it. I can’t let denial or infatuation destroy my friendship with him.”
Yunho patted his shoulder. He was proud of Junsu for this. He may seem heartless at times, but he cared when it came to friends. He obviously cared when it came to love too.
“It’s okay, Junsu. When people are in a relationship, they always believe that the other person is their true love. That doesn’t mean it’s always true. False love happens.”
“So I’m really not in love with Micky?”
Yunho thought about it for a moment. Then he remembered his purpose for being at Junsu’s house in the first place.
“Maybe you’re still in love with Micky and you just think you’re not…because he isn’t Micky.”
Junsu turned his head to look at the man sitting next to him. “Are you speaking Korean?”
“Let me explain.”
Yunho uncovered the broken cell phone and picture from his pocket to repeat everything he’d said to Changmin earlier at lunch.
“You’re saying that Micky isn’t Micky?”
“I think so and Changmin hopes so,” Yunho said. “But I guess basing it on his hair is a bit…illogical.”
Junsu recalled what else he’d noticed in the past days. “Micky said that he was a vegetarian back on the island, but the other day, he made a comment about steak being delicious. And…I could have sworn that when he told me about his family, he said that he had a younger sibling. I wish I could remember every little detail about our time together, I really do. But…”
“You’re only human, Junsu,” Yunho patted his back.
“So he isn’t Micky? But…why? And how? He seems to know when I talk to him about our memories together…like the birthday card!”
Yunho didn’t know if he should voice his thoughts. “Junsu, I realize that I haven’t been around enough to observe them, but…do you think…I mean…”
“Yunho, say it.”
“Maybe he’s pretending to be Micky…for Micky.”
“For Micky?”